Meet the Dallas Stars' 6-7 defenseman; is he as good as Chara and Myers?

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Florida Panthers' Tomas Fleischmann (14) and Dallas Stars' Jamie Oleksiak (5) trie to gain control of the puck during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game, Friday, Sept. 20, 2013, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Lindy Ruff knows a thing or two about coaching towering defensemen, so when he was asked about the benefits and weaknesses of 6-7 blueliner Jamie Oleksiak, the Stars coach got to the point pretty quickly.

“I’d rather he be 6-7 than 5-7,” Ruff quipped. “I would argue that the best guy in the league is 6-7, 6-9. He’s not the best skater, but he’s one of the best defenders.”

Oleksiak can’t escape the comparisons with Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara (6-9) or with Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers (6-8), and even Ruff admits there are some similar challenges for all three towering behemoths. However, the man who coached Myers in Buffalo says that every defender has to develop at his own rate.

“Tyler has quicker hands and is a more fluid skater, but he doesn’t carry near the mass that Jamie does,” Ruff said. “We believe [Oleksiak] can be a physical force down low and a physical defender. But it’s not easy. It’s not easy to get there, and it’s not easy to maintain it.”

Oleksiak is still taking baby steps. The 20-year-old who was drafted 14th overall in 2011 played 16 NHL games last season, tallying two assists and finishing minus-5. However, in his professional debut in the AHL, he was spectacular. The 250-pound defenseman registered 33 points (six goals, 27 assists) in 59 games and finished plus-19 with the Texas Stars. He was a legitimate difference-maker when given the big minutes.

“You saw last year that he really can be dominant,” Stars assistant general manager Les Jackson said. “We want to be patient, and we want to allow him to develop, but he can also show us when he’s ready for more.”

Oleksiak has been a staple of the Stars’ preseason lineup and played back-to-back games Friday and Saturday. With Aaron Rome recovering from hip surgery and Trevor Daley suffering an upper body injury Friday, Oleksiak’s name will start to come into the conversation about opening day lineups.

“The reason we’re playing him so much is to see if he can maintain a high level of play through the preseason,” Ruff said. “We need him to be a real hard defender, a real hard guy to play against. We know he has offense, but we want him to become a player who other teams hate to play against. That could take some time, and the decision is whether that time is best spent here [in the NHL] or if it’s playing 25 minutes a game [in the AHL].”

While the development curve for any defenseman can be slow, it’s interesting to compare Oleksiak with Chara and Myers. Chara started slowly with the Islanders and was traded to Ottawa after back-to-back seasons of minus-27. He took off with the Senators but was allowed to leave as a free agent. By that time, he was one of the top four defensemen in the NHL and ended up winning the Norris Trophy in 2009 with Boston.

Myers jumped right into the Buffalo lineup at age 19 and won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year. He has hit some speed bumps in recent years, with injuries and reduced scoring.

“We want to make sure we develop all of our players the right way, and there are times when we have to make people push their way into the NHL,” GM Jim Nill said. “That’s something we have to consider with Jamie.”

Briefly: The Stars fell to 2-0-2 in preseason with a 3-2 shootout loss to St. Louis on Saturday. Kari Lehtonen allowed three goals on 36 shots. Tyler Seguin had two assists. … Trevor Daley suffered an upper body injury in a preseason game Friday against Florida. He saw a doctor Saturday, and the Stars expect to update his status on Monday. … The Stars reduced their training camp roster by 10 players. C Radek Faksa was returned to his junior team in Kitchener, while D Ryan Button, D Hubert Labrie, LW Curtis McKenzie and C Taylor Peters were assigned to the Texas Stars. Five other players were released from tryout contracts.